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Workshop with Lewis Kornhauser

Professor Kornhauser is Alfred B. Engelberg Professor of Law at NYU Law. An expert in microeconomics, Kornhauser explores the way in which economics can contribute to our understanding of law. Unusually for that approach, Kornhauser discusses some of the most fundamental questions of jurisprudence. How does law affect behavior? Does law have normative force that guides the behaviour of private citizens and public officials? Is law merely instrumental? Does law have final value? Is law designed or is it rather spontaneous or emergent from the actions of individuals? How should we evaluate legal rules and institutions? Substantively, should our evaluation of legal rules and institutions depend solely on the consequences of those rules and institutions? When we use, in whole or in part, consequences to evaluate legal institutions, what aspects of consequences should our evaluations consider? Methodologically, what role should substantive ideals play in our evaluations?